France Approves Storing Sensitive Data with Google, Microsoft

Some of France's most sensitive state and corporate data can be safely stored using the cloud computing technology developed by Alphabet's Google and Microsoft, if it is licensed to French companies, the government said. The comment, part of strategic plan laid out by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and two other ministers, acknowledges U.S. technological superiority in the field and contrasts with previous calls from European politicians for fully homegrown alternatives.

Colonial Pipeline Cyberattack Prompts Swift Reaction from Lawmakers

The Colonial Pipeline cyberattack, which led to hoarding and fuel shortages across the East Coast, is spurring new efforts in Congress to require critical companies to tell the government when they’ve been hacked. Even leading Republicans are expressing support for regulations after this week’s chaos — a sharp change from past high-profile efforts that failed due to GOP opposition.

Irish High Court Denies Facebook's Attempt to Suspend Data Transfer Ruling

Facebook lost a bid to block an Irish watchdog's draft decision that could suspend the Silicon Valley giant’s ability to transfer data from the U.S. to the EU, according to a decision released by the Irish High Court. The court rejected Facebook’s procedural complaints about the Irish Data Protection Commission’s preliminary decision from August to order the suspension of Facebook’s data flow between the U.S. and the EU.

Facebook Upholds Ban on Organizations in Myanmar Resisting Military Coup

Facebook has reportedly upheld a ban on many organizations in Myanmar that have joined forces to resist the military coup that occurred back in February, according to Rest of World. The bans were put in place back in 2019, when organizations like the Arakan Army, and many of its allies, were classified as terrorist organizations by the democratically-elected government.

DarkSide Hackers Behind Pipeline Ransomware Attack Says It's Shutting Down

The criminal hacking group that took down Colonial Pipeline, causing debilitating fuel shortages on the East Coast, has said in a message that it is shutting down after facing pressure from the U.S. government. “In view of the above and due to the pressure from the US, the affiliate program is closed. Stay safe and good luck,” the group said in a message sent to partners in its ransomware business, according to a blog post by Intel471, a cybercrime intelligence firm.

More States Introducing Bills to Protect Internet Users' Privacy Online

Over the past six months, at least 38 states that have introduced more than 100 bills to protect people’s data privacy, regulate speech policies and encourage tech competition, according to a tally by The New York Times. That is a drastic escalation from past years. For online privacy alone, states proposed 27 bills in 2021, up from two in 2018, according to the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

Pipeline Company Paid $5 Million Ransomware to Eastern European Hackers

Colonial Pipeline Co. paid nearly $5 million to Eastern European hackers, contradicting reports that the company had no intention of paying an extortion fee to help restore the country’s largest fuel pipeline, according to two people familiar with the transaction. The company paid the hefty ransom in difficult-to-trace cryptocurrency within hours after the attack, underscoring the immense pressure faced by the Georgia-based operator to get gasoline and jet fuel flowing again to major cities along the Eastern Seaboard, those people said.

Cryptocurrency Losses Drop But 'Decentralized Finance' Crime Rises, Report Says

Losses from cryptocurrency theft, hacks and fraud fell sharply in the first four months of the year, but crime in the booming "decentralized finance" space hit an all-time high, a report from crypto intelligence company CipherTrace showed. DeFi applications are platforms that facilitate crypto-denominated lending outside traditional banking, using an open-source code with algorithms that set rates in real time based on supply and demand. Many DeFi applications are embedded in the ethereum blockchain.

Facebook Updates Policy After Oversight Board's Ruling on Blackface

As the company has done a handful of times in the past, Facebook has agreed to change one of its policies following a ruling from the Oversight Board. In response to a decision the panel came to on a video involving two individuals wearing blackface, the company says it will tweak the policy rationale section of its community guidelines on hate speech to add more context on why it prohibits harmful stereotypes.

U.S. Government Has No Cybersecurity Protocols for Liquid Pipelines

The U.S. government has had robust, compulsory cybersecurity protocols for most of the power grid for about 10 years to prevent debilitating hacks by criminals or state actors. But the country's 2.7 million miles (4.3 million km) of oil, natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines have only voluntary measures, which leaves security up to the individual operators, experts said.

Chief Information Security Officers Say They're Unprepared for Cyberattack

A majority of global chief information security officers (CISOs) surveyed as part of a report released said they feel their organizations are unprepared to face a cyberattack, despite many believing they will face an attack in the next year. The report, compiled by cybersecurity group Proofpoint, was based on a survey of 1,400 CISOs in 14 different countries including the United States.

EU Court Annuls Decision Ordering Amazon to Pay $300 Million Tax Bill

Amazon.com Inc. struck a new blow to European Union efforts to wring more tax from big tech companies when the bloc’s second-highest court sided with the company over a $300 million tax bill. The EU court annulled a 2017 decision from the European Commission, the EU’s top antitrust authority, that had ordered Amazon to pay 250 million euros in taxes to Luxembourg, the latest of several big EU tax decisions to be overturned.

Biden Signs Executive Order to Strengthen U.S. Cybersecurity Defenses

President Joe Biden signed an executive order aimed at strengthening U.S. cybersecurity defenses, a move that follows a series of sweeping cyber attacks on private companies and federal government networks, a senior administration official said. The action comes as Colonial Pipeline continues to grapple with a crippling ransomware attack, which has led to widespread fuel shortages along the East Coast and prompted an “all-of-government response” from the Biden administration.

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Apple Defends AppStore Policies in Epic Case by Citing Anti-Fraud Efforts

Apple Inc. provided in-depth detail on how many apps it rejected last year and why its iPhone payment system keeps customers secure, seeking to deflect claims from Epic Games Inc. that its review process and purchase system is a deterrent to competition. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant said in a statement that it prevented more than $1.5 billion in “potentially fraudulent transactions” last year, underscoring the need for its proprietary payment system at the heart of the on-going antitrust trial with Epic.

The GigaLaw Firm helps companies of all sizes protect their brands online, using domain name dispute policies – such as the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) – and other legal tools available to copyright and trademark owners on the Internet.